Champions League returns to Roma after several years and manager Rudi Garcia says that the players should be dictating the game from the start in order to get the three points. Their return to the competition has been met with a very tough group, as they’ll be coming up against teams like Manchester City and Bayern Munich along with CSKA Moscow. However, the opening game against the Russians presents a great opportunity for Roma to start the campaign in a positive fashion. This is extremely vital given that they are unlikely to be favourite for three points in the matches against Bayern and City.
Garcia has made wonders at Roma in his short tenure at the club. After taking charge only last summer, he managed to get the club back into the Champions League and almost won the title by beating Juventus. This summer, Roma may not have made substantial signings in the transfer market, but they have replaced the previous that they have lost and have also brought in new signings like Ashley Cole. The former Chelsea defender brings wealth of experience to the team and is expected to start against CSKA.
Roma have won both of nearly matches and are one of the three teams to have done so. In fact, there yet to concede a goal in these matches. “There are no weak sides in the Champions League. CSKA have much more European experience than we do. We need to be on our game tomorrow and make sure we do the right things at the key moments of the match. CSKA have their qualities and weaknesses. We’ll do everything we can to impose our game on them. CSKA are dangerous on the counter [attack] and have strong defenders who are good in the air,” said Garcia ahead of the match.

Tottenham Hotspur is looking to sign the American defender DeAndre Yedlin. They have offered Seattle Sounders a transfer fee of close to 3 million Pounds for the 21-year old player and the MLS club is believed to be going accept that offer.
Yedlin had been mighty impressive with his speed playing for the Yanks in Brazil and it’s from there that he came on the radar of the top clubs around the world. Apart from the Spurs, the other English club Liverpool, while, the Italian club Roma are also said to be interested in him.
Even if Yedlin gets signed by Tottenham during this transfer window, he would not join the club immediately. He would be completing the ongoing MLS season with his current club Seattle Sounders before arriving at White Hart Lane at the start of next year.
A few days back, when Yedlin was asked about the possibility of him moving to the Spurs camp, he had said, “It’s not completed as yet. My agent is dealing with all those stuffs and I am letting him do that.”
Meanwhile, Yedlin’s compatriot Kasey Keller who played for Tottenham for 4 years in the last decade has advised the young defender not to go to the London based club if he is not guaranteed to get playing time there.
Talking to the reporters yesterday, Keller, the former American shot stopper, said, “The important thing for the young players like DeAndre is to play because it’s the only way they are going to progress. They can’t do that sitting on the bench.”
“If DeAndre reckons that he would be playing every week there (at Tottenham), then it’s fine, but, if he is not sure about it, then I would not suggest him to make this move.”

It is highly expected that World Cup star James Rodriguez will complete his mega money move to Real Madrid in the next few weeks. Rodriguez has been subjected to intense transfer speculation after being one of the best players in the World Cup 2014. Based on his exploits on, Colombia reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup where they were unlucky to be knocked out by Brazil. Rodriguez also finished the World Cup as the Golden Boot winner. After recently moving to Monaco for around £ 30 million, he could be set for another move in his career.

Several top clubs like Real Madrid and Manchester United have been showing interest in the player. So far, Rodriguez has been tightlipped on the transfer rumours, but reports from Spain have stated that he is close to completing the £ 63 million move to Madrid. This would be a major disappointment for Manchester United and Louis van Gaal, who would have been hoping to build a team around him. At just 22 years of age, Rodriguez has the capability of play anywhere across the front three. For Colombia, he was used as the central figure in the absence of Radamel Falcao.

A move for £ 63 million will make Rodriguez one of the world’s most expensive players. Spanish tabloid AS has also claimed that the player has already agreed a yearly contract in the region of £ 8 million. Even though this figure is dwarfed by the earnings of players like Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo, it would still be a handsome reward for the youngster. He clearly has a long way to go in football and Madrid appear to have sneaked ahead of the competition to secure him. This was important especially after failing to get Luis Suarez, who has decided to join archrivals Barcelona.

Luis Suarez experienced a stunning season with Liverpool as he scored 31 goals, he finished the campaign by being the top goal-scorer of the previous season with a series of consistent performances each week and this has attracted the eyes of many European clubs who want to sign the Uruguayan into their squad.

Real Madrid is preparing an offer in the region of €70 million in order to lure Luis Suarez away from Anfield Road and into the Santiago Bernabeu during this summer. It has already been confirmed that the president of Real Madrid, Florentino Perez and the head coach Carlo Ancelotti have met held reunions between themselves and came to an agreement that Suarez joining Real Madrid would be a huge benefit and they will indeed attempt to sign the Uruguayan forward.

Liverpool will be competing in the Champions League in the next season as well as the Premier League, which are going to be the 2 major tournaments that Brendan Rodgers faces in a few months and he wants to keep Luis Suarez in the team in order to have a significantly high chance of performing well in both leagues.

When Suarez was asked about the interest and potential offer that Real Madrid will launch, the Liverpool star replied by stating that his only focus is on the 2014 World Cup.

“My head now is focused on the World Cup. My agent tells me what’s there. It’s more speculation than reality.” Suarez replied.

Brendan Rodgers has no intentions of selling Luis Suarez but the cash injection that arrives from selling the former Ajax player could be used to strengthen other positions in the squad. Real Madrid does not want to fall behind in this summer transfer window which is why they have turned their attention towards Luis Suarez.

Real Madrid have been dealt a huge blow after Cristiano Ronaldo had to be taken of following a calf injury in the 1-1 draw with Real Valladolid during the weekend. Apart from this result being a crushing blow for Real’s title aspirations, the injury to Ronaldo could also prove to be serious. The Champions League final is just a few weeks away and Ancelotti will want his best players available for the match against Atletico Madrid.

Ronaldo is one of the best players in the world and he has been an immense contributor for Madrid this season. He has just passed the 50 goal tally for this campaign. He felt a calf strain after just 10 mins against Valladolid. Ancelotti, though, confirmed after the match that the player has suffered a major injury and he is likely to have the superstar back in action before the end of the season. He could, however, missed the next two matches in the la Liga since they are likely to be of no use for Madrid.

Their dropped points against Valladolid has proved very costly and they are now outsiders for the title with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid still in contention. Ancelotti said that he does not want to give up on the title now.

“We will see over the coming days. We don’t think Cristiano Ronaldo has a big problem. He was not very comfortable but there was no tear. We did pull everybody back but conceded a goal from a set-piece. It was not about a lack of concentration even if Iker (Casillas) did have two chances to save it. Winning the league will be very difficult, but the mathematical possibility is still there. We must continue moving forwards and win our two remaining league games,” said the former Milan and Chelsea manager.

Real Madrid has reached the semifinals of the Champions League after the Spanish titans managed to survive Borussia Dortmund’s series of attacks during their 2nd leg match which was played at the Signal-Iduna Park in Dortmund.

Cristiano Ronaldo appeared on the sidelines of the squad as he was still recovering from an injury he had suffered a few days ago and even though the absence of the Portuguese midfielder was being felt by Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti and his players barely managed on leaving the pitch with an aggregate score of 3-2 which is just enough for them to advance into the semifinals of the European tournament.

Marco Reus scored the opening goal of the match as he took advantage of a mistake from Pepe who instead of clearing the ball away from danger, the defender headed it back to Reus who only had Iker Casillas left to beat and slipped it into the net.

13 minutes later and Marco Reus netted his 2nd and last goal of the entire match as he took full advantage of a rebound as he slammed it past the Real Madrid defender as they tried to stop the ball from entering the net but failed on doing so.

The match continued rolling on but Real Madrid did not concede any further goals which unfortunately for Borussia Dortmund, they needed at least 1 more goal in order to stay in fighting in the Champions League.

The players of Jurgen Klopp went upfront for the last few minutes of the match as they tried pressuring Real Madrid hoping to steal the ball and somehow find a way to score the crucial last goal but it never arrived as Real Madrid advanced into the semifinals stages and knocked out Borussia Dortmund

Karim Benzema has emerged as one of the top strikers in Spanish football once again after managing to score 12 goals in just 14 matches since January. Even more important for Real Madrid is the fact that most of these goals have come at an important stage against top opposition.

Carlo Ancelotti has been given a lot of credit for the way he has helped Benzema rediscover his form, but the Italian has said that credit should go towards his assistant manager and Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane. The Frenchman has been a major part of Benzema’s recovery according to Ancelotti.

The addition of Gareth Bale to the squad was expected to diminish the role of Benzema. He was spoken of as a potential Arsenal target during the summer transfer window. However, the sale of Gonzalo Higuain to Napoli prevented the club from selling the Frenchman as well. The decision looked like being wrong during the first half of the season, as Benzema struggled for both form and consistency. However, his return to form has now coincided with Real Madrid going through a great spell during which time they have opened a four-point advantage in the league.

Madrid could go one step closer towards winning the title when they take on Barcelona in the league next week.

“I think Zidane’s done fantastic work, especially with Karim. He’s communicated a lot with the players and implemented a specific job with all attackers. His work is very important. I am very pleased with Zidane. He has a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of knowledge. He understands what is happening on the pitch during a match. I asked him several times if he wanted to play but he told me no! He can still play without problem!” said Ancelotti, whose team are undefeated in the last few months.

Real Madrid managed to preserve their lead at the top of the table after a 2-2 draw with Atletico Madrid, but they had to wait until the final 10 minutes in order to secure this equaliser.

Real Madrid came into the match after having lost the previous league encounter between the two teams at the Santiago Bernabeu. Hence, there was intense pressure from manager Carlo Ancelotti to avoid a double, which would have been the first time it has happened after a long period. Real, however, were confident ahead of the encounter since they recently beat their arch rivals 5-0 on aggregate in the Copa del Rey.

They also began the match extremely well thanks to an early goal from striker Karim Benzema. He scored after just two minutes on the clock after Atletico had failed to clear a corner. However, two quick goals from Koke and Gabi made the game look like heading for another defeat for Real Madrid. This would have been the first time since 1951 that they had been defeated twice by their arch rivals in a single season. As Real pushed on in search of an equaliser, Atletico looked dangerous on the counter-attack especially with striker Diego Costa in great form.

However, Ronaldo equalised with only a few minutes remaining and Ancelotti praised his team after the match. “We drew a game that we were losing. The response was good and overall we can be satisfied because Atletico are a good team, particularly at home. We’re top and that’s good. A point is a point. It was a difficult match. We tried to play but it wasn’t easy because Atletico played a very rough game. They tried to impose a violent game. We don’t play like that,” said Ancelotti to the club’s official site after the match.

Iker Casillas has not played a single match in this season as Diego Lopez seems to be the main star for Carlo Ancelotti but despite not playing an important role for Real Madrid in this season, according to the head coach Casillas will wage a war to try and keep hold of the Spanish goalkeeper.

“It was not an easy decision; I have two goalkeepers of high quality, the best two in the world. I started with Diego as my No.1, but then did not consider that Casillas would not play. Rotating goalkeepers is not the most desirable thing, it is not easy, but they have understood.

“I’ll fight the same way I did for Xabi. This team has key players representing the club and I will wage war for Casillas to finish his career here, in Madrid.” Ancelotti told the Spanish media.

So far in this season Real Madrid has been finding themselves mostly behind the leadership of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid as those are the top 2 teams fighting for the Spanish title and Carlo Ancelotti went out to talk about why they are falling behind those clubs as he stated that Real Madrid is undergoing a ‘’new philisophy’’.

“We’re not doing as well because we changed philosophy this season,” he added. “Last year’s Madrid played more on the counterattack; we want to play with more possession. It takes time to adjust. It will take a little longer to catch Barcelona and Atletico. I am aware that some people’s patience is limited, which is normal because Madrid have to try to win every year’’.

The leaders of the Spanish League, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid faced each other in their latest league fixture and the final outcome was a goalless draw which gives Real Madrid a chance to cut the gap between them and maintain the pressure at the top of the league.

Alexis Ruano, the central defender of Getafe, said that David Villa is the best striker in Spain today. Alesi, born in Malaga, would come up against the Spain international when Getafe meets Atletico Madrid at Vicente Calderon this Saturday. His team is fully aware of David’s importance in Diego Simeone’s team.

While speaking to reporters, Alexis Ruano told that for him, David Villa is the best forward in La Liga. Even though one does not listen about Villa as Diego Costa, yet he does a whole lot of work. He is quite good in getting away from defenders. This helps them a lot.

Diego Costa is in doubt for this week’s match, but Alexis said that this does not concern him. He always relishes playing against the best and having Villa on the field is great. If he does not play; that would be better for Getafe. But Atletico is a great team and it really does not matter who plays.

Alexis Ruano told that the past few times they have played at Calderon, they have had more ball possession, and still they failed to score at vital moments. This year, they would go out with the mind set of making it tough for them. The team is hopeful of getting a positive result. Still, they have to keep a close eye on them on the counter attack. If Getafe has to win, they have to stay focused for the ninety minutes.